Common Name: Country Mallow

General Information

Abutilon mauritianum is a shrubby perennial plant with stems that usually become woody and persist, though are sometimes annual with the plant dying back to a woody base. It grows from 0.5 - 2 metres tall with occasional specimens reaching a height of 3.5 metres[].
A multipurpose plant, it is sometimes gathered from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of many commodities. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - drier areas from Ghana to Ethiopia, south to Angola and Mozambique.

Habitat

Riverine forest; river-banks; also ruderal: roadsides, etc.; open woodland on a variety of soils; very common in red soils at forest edges and on the coast in bushland on coral (Kenya); rice-fields (Nigeria); from sea level to 2,300 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Shrub
Height	2.00 m
Pollinators	Bees
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Plants in this genus generally require a position in full sun or part day shade, and a fertile well-drained soil[].

Edible Uses

The leaves are edible[].
The leaves and flowers are eaten together as a vegetable[]. They are cooked, edible oil, groundnut paste or coconut milk are added and then the whole is served with ugali or rice[].

Flowers - cooked and eaten as a vegetable[].

Seeds[].

Medicinal

The plant is widely used in traditional African medicine. Modern research has demonstrated the presence of a range of medically active compounds in the plant - saponins, flavonoids, tannins and alkaloids have all been reported present in the leaf[].
Ethanolic extracts of the leaf exhibited antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa[].

The bark is diuretic. It is used to treat kidney problems[, ].
The roots and bark are boiled and the liquid drunk to treat diarrhoea, stomach-ache, coughs and colds[, ].

The roots are expectorant and febrifuge[]. An infusion of the root is taken as cooling drink in case of fever[]. A root decoction is drunk as a treatment against bronchitis and cramp in the stomach[]. The crushed fresh root is boiled and taken orally in case of snake bites[].

The leaves are demulcent and mucilaginous, They are used to treat a range of conditions such as diarrhoea and dysentery; cutaneous and subcutaneous parasitic infections; naso-pharyngeal affections; venereal diseases[].
The sap is drunk as a treatment against coughs, colds and malaria[].
An infusion of the macerated leaves, combined with the powdered root of Xylopia aethiopica, is drunk as a treatment for venereal diseases such as gonorrhoea[].
The leaves are used as rectal suppository to relieve soreness of the rectum in babies and young children[].
Applied externally, they are used as bandage on open wounds[]. The leaves are pounded to a pulp and applied on scabies[]. A decoction of the leaves is used as a gargle for sore throat and as a fomentation to relieve pain in dysentery and haemorrhoids[].
Mucilage from the leaves is used in poultices, and is applied on wounds to facilitate the extraction of foreign bodies such as splinters[].

The seed is used to treat coughs and other pulmonary troubles[, ].

The powdered fruit is used in preparations for the treatment of eczema[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The flowers are a good bee forage[].

Other Uses

The bark is used to obtain dyes, stains, inks, tattoos and mordants[].
A mucilaginous extract from the bark is used as mordant in dyeing[].

A strong fibre is obtained from the stem bark[, ]. It is used to make rope and string[, ].

The stems are used as chew-sticks, etc[, ].

Twigs are used to make brooms[].

The bark is used for making baskets[].

The leaves are used as a toilet paper[].

Propagation

Seed -

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